First report of bird tracks (Aquatilavipes) from the Cedar Mountain Formation (Lower Cretaceous), eastern Utah

Lockley, Martin G.; Buckley, Lisa G.; Foster, John; Kirkland, James I.; DeBlieux, Donald D.

doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2014.12.014

Cited by 13 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 25 publications

(4 reference statements)

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“…The morphology of this fossil track compares well with the Aquatilavipes swiboldae [60]. Though reported in Asia [61–63], this ichnotaxon is found largely in Cretaceous units throughout western North America [5, 60, 64, 65].…”

Section: Geographic and Geologic Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 54%

Dinosaur ichnology and sedimentology of the Chignik Formation (Upper Cretaceous), Aniakchak National Monument, southwestern Alaska; Further insights on habitat preferences of high-latitude hadrosaurs

et al. 2019

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While there are now numerous records of dinosaurs from Cretaceous rocks around the state of Alaska, very few fossil records of terrestrial vertebrates are known from the Mesozoic rocks of the southwestern part of the state. Here we report the new discovery of extensive occurrences of dinosaur tracks from Aniakchak National Monument of the Alaska Peninsula. These tracks are in the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) Chignik Formation, a cyclic sequence of rocks, approximately 500–600 m thick, representing shallow marine to nearshore marine environments in the lower part and continental alluvial coastal plain environments in the upper part of the section. These rocks are part of the Peninsular Terrane and paleomagnetic reconstructions based on the volcanic rocks of this terrane suggest that the Chignik Formation was deposited at approximately its current latitude which is almost 57° N. Recent field work in Aniakchak National Monument has revealed over 75 new track sites, dramatically increasing the dinosaur record from the Alaska Peninsula. Most of the combined record of tracks can be attributed to hadrosaurs, the plant-eating duck-billed dinosaurs. Tracks range in size from those made by full-grown adults to juveniles. Other tracks can be attributed to armored dinosaurs, meat-eating dinosaurs, and two kinds of fossil birds. The track size of the predatory dinosaur suggests a body approximately 6–7 m long, about the estimated size of the North Slope tyrannosaurid Nanuqsaurus. The larger bird tracks resemble Magnoavipes denaliensis previously described from Denali National Park, while the smaller bird tracks were made by a bird about the size of a modern Willet. Previous interdisciplinary sedimentologic and paleontologic work in the correlative and well-known dinosaur bonebeds of the Prince Creek Formation 1400km-1500km further north in Alaska suggested that high-latitude hadrosaurs preferred distal coastal plain or lower delta plain habitats. The ichnological record being uncovered in the Chignik Formation of southwestern Alaska is showing that the hadrosaur tracks here were also made in distal coastal and delta plain conditions. This similarity may corroborate the habitat preference model for Cretaceous high-latitude dinosaurs proposed for the data gathered from the Prince Creek Formation, and may indicate that at least Beringian hadrosaurids had similar habitat preferences regardless of latitude.

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Section: Geographic and Geologic Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 54%

Dinosaur ichnology and sedimentology of the Chignik Formation (Upper Cretaceous), Aniakchak National Monument, southwestern Alaska; Further insights on habitat preferences of high-latitude hadrosaurs

et al. 2019

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“…Among these are HB-1, FF-1-1, FF-1-2 and FF-5A-1, which align with the ichnogenus Aquatilavipes and other ichnogenera from the "ichnofamily" Avipedidae [21,62,[70][71][72]. Still, lengths and widths of the Wonthaggi specimens are greater than most Aquatilavipes, although size differences in this ichnogenus are reported in other deposits [73]. Wonthaggi track FF-5A-5 is also morphologically similar to the ichnogenus Limiavipes ("ichnofamily" Limiavipedidae), but its length and width are slightly smaller than others identified from elsewhere [74].…”

Section: Plos Onementioning

confidence: 66%

“…In contrast to Gondwana, Early and Late Cretaceous bird tracks are abundant and diverse in former Laurasian landmasses, such as North America [62,66,70,73,81,88] and Asia [27, 28, 51, 52, 54-58, 71, 89, 90], including those in Early Cretaceous strata [27, 51, 54-58, 60, 72, PLOS ONE 89]. The origin of birds is currently hypothesized to have happened during the Middle to Late Jurassic, and in Laurasia [91,92].…”

Section: Paleontological and Paleoecological Significance Of The Wont...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Earliest known Gondwanan bird tracks: Wonthaggi Formation (Early Cretaceous), Victoria, Australia

Martin,

Lowery,

Hall

et al. 2023

PLoS ONE

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The fossil record for Cretaceous birds in Australia has been limited to rare skeletal material, feathers, and two tracks, a paucity shared with other Gondwanan landmasses. Hence the recent discovery of 27 avian footprints and other traces in the Early Cretaceous (Barremian-Aptian, 128–120 Ma) Wonthaggi Formation of Victoria, Australia amends their previous rarity there, while also confirming the earliest known presence of birds in Australia and the rest of Gondwana. The avian identity of these tracks is verified by their tridactyl forms, thin digits relative to track lengths, wide divarication angles, and sharp claws; three tracks also have hallux imprints. Track forms and sizes indicate a variety of birds as tracemakers, with some among the largest reported from the Early Cretaceous. Although continuous trackways are absent, close spacing and similar alignments of tracks on some bedding planes suggest gregariousness. The occurrence of this avian trace-fossil assemblage in circumpolar fluvial-floodplain facies further implies seasonal behavior, with trackmakers likely leaving their traces on floodplain surfaces during post-thaw summers.

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“…Very little information on additional ornithomimid material from the Cloverly has been published to date. Somewhat older middle Aptian tracks have been attributed to ornithomimosaurs at the Mill Canyon Dinosaur Tracksite in southeastern Utah (Cedar Mountain Formation, Ruby Ranch Member; Hunt & Quinn, 2018;Kirkland et al, this volume;Lockley et al, 2014a;Suarez et al, 2021, this volume) and even older tracks are present in the lower Ruby Ranch Member at Arches National Park, but the oldest possible ornithomimid tracks are associated with bird tracks near the top of the Yellow Cat Member in the Valanginian Lockley et al, 2014b). These sites represent the oldest tracks of this type from the Early Cretaceous of North America.…”

Section: The Early Cretaceous Ornithomimosaur Record In North Americamentioning

confidence: 99%

14th Symposium on Mesozoic Terrestrial Ecosystems and Biota

2023

The Anatomical Record

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First report of bird tracks (Aquatilavipes) from the Cedar Mountain Formation (Lower Cretaceous), eastern Utah

Cited by 13 publications

References 25 publications

Dinosaur ichnology and sedimentology of the Chignik Formation (Upper Cretaceous), Aniakchak National Monument, southwestern Alaska; Further insights on habitat preferences of high-latitude hadrosaurs

Dinosaur ichnology and sedimentology of the Chignik Formation (Upper Cretaceous), Aniakchak National Monument, southwestern Alaska; Further insights on habitat preferences of high-latitude hadrosaurs

Earliest known Gondwanan bird tracks: Wonthaggi Formation (Early Cretaceous), Victoria, Australia

14th Symposium on Mesozoic Terrestrial Ecosystems and Biota

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